


winning love by daylight

by sinkburrito



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Sailor Moon Fusion, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Identity Porn, Kinda, M/M, anime-typical outlandish plot, au where luke is still grogu's teacher but also like. sailor moon, i had a lot of ideas here and theyre mostly incoherent. good luck, miracle romance except the opposite actually, obiwan is a massive bitch and i apologize for that. i still love him it just manifested
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29169939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinkburrito/pseuds/sinkburrito
Summary: Din Djarin is a stranger in a strange land, but things are finally looking up for him after escaping the people after his son in Nevarro. Sleepy Coruscant is peaceful, friendly, and has Luke Skywalker in it, all points in its favor. It's pretty much perfect -- except for the stories of the Jedi, a team of teenage warriors that vanished a decade ago. It's not like they'll ever come back though, right?(star wars/sailor moon au ft. aliens, clairvoyants, talking cats, and one bitch with a gun)
Relationships: Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, background han/leia - Relationship
Comments: 20
Kudos: 74





	winning love by daylight

**Author's Note:**

> title comes from amalee's translation of moonlight densetsu

Grogu’s been a bit obsessed with the color green. Every clothing item he’s worn for the past month has been green, and he’s refused to wear any other colors. Din thinks it might be a security thing, indulging it as best he can. After all, how can he deny his son anything, especially when they’ve just moved to an unfamiliar city? Din hefts Grogu up onto his hip and holds him up so he can run his hands along the toys hanging in the aisle, dangling in the fluorescent supermarket lights, otherworldly in the dark of night. Their scant amount of belongings are still boxed in cardboard in the new apartment, left to stand guard as the two of them go on a late night shopping run.

Grogu cooes over the green toy, of course. Din reaches up to pull it off the rack and hold it up to his son. He’s a bit surprised; Grogu has never been one for action figures, preferring soft plushies and round objects he can throw. The man -- or, well, boy -- engraved into the plastic is a cheerful blond with a boyish grin. The cheap fabric that swaddles him seems to be an imitation of bright green robes, and he’s holding a green rod that’s advertised to light up. 

“What the hell is a ‘Jedi Jupiter?’” Din mutters to himself, flipping over the box. The back is filled with colorful drawings and text that he can barely read, burning his eyes with fluorescent colors and blocky fonts. Grogu presses the “Try Me!” button and Jedi Jupiter’s… staff? sword? lights up green. Grogu giggles. 

“Okay, okay,” Din says. Grogu jumps to the ground and smiles up at him, making everything worth it. “Sure, kid. Anything you want.” 

He had only found Grogu a year ago, but since then, everything had changed. The kid had given him something to live for, to be better for, to turn his whole life around for. He had lost his way, but in Grogu, he found it again. He had never thought he’d end up in a place like Coruscant, with its gleaming skyscrapers and green parks, but it was a place he wanted Grogu to grow up in. Grogu’s hand links with his, tiny hand reaching up to hold Din’s.

They meander along the supermarket aisles, grabbing various things needed to stock their new apartment. Grogu is enamored with his new light-up Skechers, stomping as he goes. 

“Hold on, kid,” Din warns as Grogu skips into the cereal aisle ahead of him. He abandons the cart to hurry after his son around the corner… and right into someone else. The solid body slams into Din’s with surprising strength, and it’s all he can do to stay on his feet. His hand goes for the gun tucked into his waistband out of instinct, and it takes him a moment to calm his racing heartbeat and remind himself that things are different here.

Grogu halts questioningly to turn back and observe his father and the other shopper, whose basket has fallen to the ground, spilling its contents beside its dizzy owner.

“Oh, geez, I’m so sorry!” the man exclaims, rubbing his head from his spot on the ground, “I didn’t even realize-- sorry, I’m just really clumsy, wasn’t watching where I was going--”

“It’s fine,” Din murmurs, bending down to pick up the man’s things off the ground. “I should’ve seen you there.” 

The basket is sparse, having contained only kale, a box of loose green tea, and a magazine with the headline “SENATOR ORGANA’S HUSBAND: SECRET ALIEN???” splashed across the cover alongside a blurry picture of a man with badly photoshopped glowing eyes. The man blushes a bright red as he grabs the magazine.

  
“It’s a joke, for my sister,” he explains, averting his eyes. “She thinks the magazines are funny.” His gaze flicks to the toy that Din had dropped in their collision. “Oh! You’re a fan of Jedi Jupiter?”

Din pulls the toy back towards himself, feeling wrong-footed. “My son picked it out. I don’t actually know what a Jedi is.”

The man gathers his things and stands from the ground, extending a hand to Din, who takes it and is immediately struck by how soft this man’s hands are. 

“You must not be from around here, then,” the man guesses, “No offense. It’s just that most people in Coruscant are…” He winces. “Borderline obsessed with the Jedi.”

“Yes,” Din answers, beckoning Grogu to come to him. The child runs to him, hiding behind his coat but staring interestedly at the man before him. Din looks up, preparing to continue his sentence, but trails off as he takes in the full sight before him.

The man is a dusty blond tucked into a pale blue sweater vest and ill-fitting slacks. He could be anywhere between twenty and forty, deep lines framing kind blue eyes that seem to stare right into Din’s soul. He has a sort of timeless boyish charm, lethally paired with a crooked, bashful grin, and he looks like he stepped out of an old photograph, with his faded hair and washed-out tiredness. Much like the supermarket, he seems like he does not belong in this world.

  
“Um, yes, we’re new.” Din clears his throat awkwardly, shaking himself from thoughts of angels and aliens. “What are the Jedi?”

The man hmms. “Well, they were basically a team of magical child soldiers that fought evil monsters in public spectacle until they finally defeated whatever it was that brought all the monsters in the first place.” 

Din balks. “What?!”

The man shrugs, but his expression is pensive. “No one knows where they came from, only that they appeared out of the blue one day when creatures started attacking the city.”  
  


“And now they sell action figures?” 

“Now, the Jedi haven’t been seen in ten years, and every company around decided to capitalize on their popularity,” the man corrects. 

Din looks down at the toy in his hands, noticing now how young the boy looks. A sense of injustice pulls at him, now that he’s been informed that the Jedi are-- or were-- real. He frowns slightly.

“The Jedi haven’t been around since I was in high school, though, so you don’t have to worry about them fighting in the streets anymore,” the man adds, noticing Din’s doubt. “It’s perfectly safe here, I assure you,” he finishes with a smile that would’ve been cheesy on anyone else, but somehow seems genuine and kind on him. “Oh! I’m Luke, by the way. Welcome to Coruscant,” he says, extending a hand for Din to shake.

“Thanks,” Din says awkwardly. Din takes Luke’s hand, feeling very outside of his comfort zone with Luke’s megawatt smile and bright blue eyes turned on him. 

Treacherous thoughts like _i don’t know what i’d call that eye color but it’s certainly interesting_ and _i hope he smiles more often, it’s a good look on him_ invade Din’s mind and he almost forgets to drop Luke’s hand after a socially acceptable measure of time. Luke’s still looking at him expectantly, though, and Din tries to offer a smile of his own, although he’s sure it looks like more of a grimace. The silence stretches between them and Din tries to think of something else to say. Luke waves at Grogu, who hides further behind his father. 

“Um, well, it was nice meeting you,” Luke says. “I hope your kid likes the toy. He’s really very cute, and it was nice meeting you. Did I say that already? Um, probably. Sorry for bothering you,” he continues, walking backwards and almost tripping over a display case. He rights himself with a surprising agility before bumping into another person, thankfully not falling over this time. 

Grogu hums questioningly and pokes Din in the leg. “What?” Din asks. Then it dawns on him. “I forgot to tell him my name,” Din realizes. He had just stared at him until he went away; it was no wonder that Luke seemed so awkward at the end. Din hangs his head and groans. Grogu chirps amusedly, earning a small smile from Din. 

  
  
  


~~~

Coruscant is nice. Really, it is. Nevarro had been, for lack of a better phrase, a dump, and certainly no place to raise a child. Din will forever be grateful to Greef Karga for setting him up with an apartment and a job in Coruscant and enabling him to give Grogu an education in a city renowned for its public school system.

Still, as he quietly eases open the door to Grogu’s room, he feels strangely bereft. He’s left everyone he’s ever known behind… Cara, Greef, Cobb… Coruscant is a strange new world and he feels like he sticks out like a sore thumb, holding even more tightly to Grogu now that they have no one else. There’s no chance of returning, not now that they can finally start a new life without bounty hunters and who knows what else breathing down their necks. Before Grogu, Din would have thought to go after whoever placed a hit out on him. Now, he just wants to slip under the radar so Grogu can sleep in the same bed each night.

Grogu lies fast asleep, tiny chest rising and falling with a comforting rhythm. If Din watches him for long enough, he can fool himself into thinking that Grogu was born his son -- they have the same dark hair, and Din likes to think that Grogu’s nose resembles his own. 

Din absentmindedly brushes a strand of hair from Grogu’s sleeping forehead. “Hey buddy,” he says softly, “Time to wake up.”

Grogu buries his face in the pillows as Din internally sympathizes. 

Grogu holds Din’s hand tightly as they walk into Grogu’s new school, and Din holds on just as tight. In Grogu’s other hand resides Jedi Jupiter, who has quickly become his new favorite toy. In Nevarro, Grogu had never had the chance to go to school. At six years old, Grogu is entering first grade, still nonverbal, and with no prior schooling. Din knows that Grogu’s intelligence is not defined by his speech, but he’s worried about what the other children will say, how they’ll treat him, and if the teacher will be as attentive to Grogu as with the other students. 

Din stalls outside the classroom door, crouching down to adjust Grogu’s backpack straps and fix his hair. “Listen to Mr. Skywalker, alright kid? And no biting other kids -- we both know how that turned out. Don’t let the other kids steal your snacks, but don’t steal theirs either. No cookies before recess because you’ll throw up. Alright?”

Grogu nods vigorously. Din sighs, and presses a kiss to his forehead. He swallows down all the other advice and worries that bubble up in him, reminding himself that Grogu is going to first grade, not the mob. 

Mr. Skywalker’s classroom is decorated with colorful cutouts and lots of animal posters with motivational quotes, much to Din’s disregard. Grogu shuffles into the cluster of children with trepidation, but begins animatedly motioning with his toy as a nearby classmate turns to him and begins to chatter. 

At the front of the classroom surrounded by a small circle of parents is a man speaking with just as much excitement as the children. Din approaches, noting only the cloud of blond hair and the rumpled green cardigan. Mr. Skywalker waves to the leaving parents, and it is only then that Din clears his throat and the teacher spins around.

“Oh-- hi!” Luke exclaims, surprised.

“I’m not stalking you,” Din feels the need to say, to his immediate chagrin. “I just--” he trails off, motioning towards the class of first graders.

Luke nods knowingly. “You’re not stalking _me_ , you’re stalking one of my first graders,” he says, nodding purposefully.

“No, no!” Din exclaims in desperation, “I didn’t mean--”

Luke startles him by laughing brightly. Din cuts off abruptly, struck by the clear, melodious sound. “I know, I was just kidding,” Luke assures him with a quicksilver smile. “Your son is in my class?”  
  


Din nods, hoping in futility that his face isn’t as red as it feels. “Grogu Djarin -- he’s still got the Jedi toy. Just let him have it, because it’s damn near impossible to take it away from him. I wanted to talk to you about him, actually. Grogu is… Grogu doesn’t talk, but he communicates in other ways, you just have to pay attention to him.” he says, near pleading. 

Luke hums thoughtfully. “I understand. I’ll make sure he’s included and listened to,” he promises, resting a hand on Din’s elbow lightly. Din freezes.

“Sorry!” Luke exclaims, dropping the hand. “My sister always tells me I’m too touchy, but I never seem to learn.”

“It’s fine,” Din chokes out. “I have-- I work.”

Luke nods fervently. “Yes, of course. But -- I didn’t catch your name the first time we met?”

“It’s Din, Din Djarin,” Din answers. His tongue feels thick in his mouth and he wipes his palms on his pants surreptitiously. There’s something about Luke Skywalker that makes him stumble through his words and feel like he’s had way too many cups of coffee. “Um. Nice to meet you,” he says, then turns to leave, mortified. 

Din has an aura that makes most people stay at least six feet away from him, aside from the few friends he has (or had, back in Nevarro) who would tolerate him, but rarely touch him -- that simply wasn’t the way his friendships worked. Touch is reserved for Grogu, who is family, and the only family he has, at that. Luke seems to have no reservations, which, coupled with his disarming smile and cheerful personality, can only be a recipe for disaster. 

  
  


~~

  
  


Work is good. Work is rewarding, and Din is again taken aback by how _friendly_ the people in Coruscant are. He gets settled in without a hitch, and no one questions if he belongs there. It’s good. Nice. Din likes his work well enough, even though he knows that being a mechanic isn’t what he wants to do with the rest of his life. 

He doesn’t see Luke while picking up Grogu, and ignores how that disappoints him. Grogu seems to practically vibrate with excitement in the car on the way home, enacting elaborate stories with Jedi Jupiter and making noises. They make a stop at McDonald’s and Grogu looks the happiest Din has ever seen him as he wiggles in his sticky plastic chair. When they get back, Grogu skips along up the stairs to their third floor apartment, humming happily. 

“Oh! It’s you,” comes an astonished voice from the hallway. “What are you doing here?”  
  


Din stops in his tracks as he tries to process how Luke Skywalker has stumbled into his path for the third time in two days. 

“I live here,” he says. “What are _you_ doing here?”

“I also live here,” Luke says. “I’m in 317.” 

  
Grogu’s eyes light up in understanding and he shuffles across the hallway to point excitedly at the door to 319.

“Hello, Grogu!” Luke greets brightly.

“We’re in 319,” Din explains.

A pleased grin spreads across Luke’s face. “So we’re neighbors,” he muses aloud. “Isn’t it funny how we’ve met twice already? Must be fate. Let me know if you need to borrow a cup of sugar or anything,” he says with a wink, before waving and entering his own apartment.

Grogu tugs on Din’s hand insistently as he gathers his bearings and tries to convince his face to cool down before giving in and following his son inside. Images of Luke winking playing in the back of his mind, Din turns on the TV and opens the fridge to begin making dinner.

The TV flickers in the background for most of the time, but something catches Din’s eye; a grainy footage plays of what appears to be the Jedi. He turns up the volume.

_“... famously, though I’m not sure how much of that is true. Although we’ve never seen what actually happened to Darth Vader, he hasn’t been seen since Jedi Moon killed the Emperor, suggesting that the Jedi defeated him as well. We may never know what happened at that final battle, but the theories are boundless. Some suggest that Darth Vader was a double agent, citing the unfounded claims that he was seen fighting with the Jedi against the Emperor; others think that Darth Vader and the Emperor were the same person, and both died after Jedi Moon’s heroic sacrifice. Whatever happened, Coruscant will always remember the last battle of the Jedi, and honor the memory of Jedi Moon who died to protect our city and her people.”_

The screen freezes on a photo of the Jedi team. Din reads each of their names, blazoned below their owners: Jedi Mercury on the far left, a girl with dark skin and indigo hair tucked beneath a futuristic looking helmet in blue, Jedi Mars beside her, another girl with brown hair styled in elaborate buns in deep red robes, Jedi Venus and Moon with their arms on each other’s shoulders, boys in orange and white respectively, and finally, on the far right, Jedi Jupiter’s soft greens. Their costumes are far more sophisticated than the dolls, replacing bright colors with muted tones, the design of the robes themselves simplistic and practical, like uniforms. They all look so… young. The dates spanning the bottom of the screen feel far too close to an obituary, and Din is relieved when the image changes again.

_“Jedi Moon, what do you have to say to people who are scared about what will come after Darth Dooku? After all, he only appeared after the Jedi defeated Darth Maul.”_

_Jedi Moon leans into the microphone slightly with a cocky grin, brushing the lanky brown hair out of his face. “I’d tell them not to worry,” he says, “The Jedi have proven that we can handle any threat the Emperor throws at us, so I think it’s_ **_him_ ** _that should be worried about what will happen next. If he throws something as easy to handle as Darth Dooku at us next, then people might stop taking him seriously.”_

_Jedi Moon winks at the camera, then leaps away, barely visible as a blur on the screen. The TV plays a montage of Jedi Moon facing off against several shadowy creatures, masses of teeth and claws made of darkened fog that explode when Moon thrusts his glowing sword into them._

_Several candid shots of the other Jedi play, edited in scrappy chunks._ _  
  
_

_“I think he’s a big jerk!” Jedi Mercury says, sticking her tongue out at something behind the camera. This is accompanied by offscreen laughter._

_“He makes the decisions that no one else really can,” Jedi Mars says, looking pensive. “I don’t envy him that job.”_

_“Y’know, he’s the leader, and he keeps us all together, and I think that’s really important. We’re all there to support him, but he’s there for us, too,” Jedi Jupiter earnestly tells the camera._

_Jedi Venus stares into the camera lens. “I think… he’s a symbol of hope for a lot of people, including me,” he says. “He makes you want to be better, who he thinks you are, and--” Venus cuts off as something draws his attention. “I’m sorry, I have to go,” he apologizes to the camera before leaping off._

_A black and white image of Jedi Moon fades onto the screen, with more dates displayed at the bottom, accompanied by the phrase “In Loving Memory.”_

Din turns the TV off to Grogu’s questioning murmur. He shakes his head. 

~~

He doesn’t ask Luke about the Jedi anymore. The Jedi pass to the back of his mind, only igniting a melancholic sense of injustice when he passes by the gas station, where a large poster of Jedi Mars holds a soda, or he sees someone on the street wearing a shirt with the team in various battle-ready poses. 

He sees Luke often. He’s still the warmest thing about Coruscant, even though Din gets along fairly well with his new coworkers, Fett and Fennec, and his boss, Peli. Luke is always just a text away (he’d insisted on giving Din his number if he ever needed anything) when Din needs to know the best place to get Chinese, or if he wants to know how Grogu’s doing when he’s at school. 

Luke’s become his go-to babysitter for when work runs late. Luke knows his way around the tiny kitchen in Din’s apartment and is a surprisingly good cook for someone who only buys greens at the grocery store. He tells Din about his sister (who is on TV more often than not), all the kids in Grogu’s class, and stories from his college days with Ahsoka, who teaches the classroom next to Luke’s. Din’s been on the receiving end of a penetrating stare from Ms. Tano for the few times Luke had been busy with other parents and he’d had to wait outside. It’s hard to reconcile the impassive schoolteacher with the girl that regularly snorted soda through her nose in Luke’s stories. 

In return, Din tells him about life in Nevarro, and how he’d found Grogu. The details are sparse, but Luke never presses for more, never judges. Fennec regularly teases him for how often he looks at his phone, and Fett just smirks knowingly. Din is more than aware that he’s falling alarmingly fast for his son’s teacher, but he can’t summon up any guilt -- only low-burning excitement. He can’t believe he ever compared Luke to a washed-out photograph-- the man seems to _radiate_ warmth and light, and sometimes it feels like he’s so bright that Din can’t even look at him without something tightening in his chest. Din’s not leaving Coruscant anytime soon, and Grogu will only be in Luke’s class for a few more months. There is no shattered glass in the middle of the night, no back-alley chases. They have time.

Meanwhile, the cherry blossoms are beginning to bloom, and the breeze carries the hints of spring. The days are getting warmer and Din thinks that moving to Coruscant was one of the best decisions of his life.

~~

Din sighs to the empty fridge. It’s 2am, and Grogu is unable to sleep, craving his favorite snack: applesauce. 

“I’ll be back in ten,” he calls, pulling on his jacket. There’s a convenience store a couple blocks down that’s open 24/7, and Din knows from personal experience that they do in fact sell applesauce. He hesitates briefly before Luke’s door, but thinks better of it. It’s far too late to disturb Luke, who already does so much. Lately, Luke’s dark circles have been growing, and sometimes, Din wakes to the sound of his screaming night terrors. He can’t take this from him. 

The lamplight seems to get dimmer and eventually flicker out the further he goes, but Din chalks it up to lack of funding and poor electric work. Although, he does have a strange feeling that something is watching him. There’s something acrid in the air, like burning rubber. Overall, nothing unusual for a night in Nevarro, except that he’s not in Nevarro anymore; he’s in Coruscant. 

Movement, out of the corner of his eye. Din instinctively reaches for the gun in his jeans, resting his hand lightly there. 

“Who’s there?” he calls, voice rough with suspicion. Turning around, he finds streets laden only with a light dusting of snow. Distantly, he realizes that the late snow will kill the cherry blossoms.

Exhaling slowly, Din turns back around, and immediately freezes in terror. The burning smell is overpowering, peeling off in clouds of black smoke from the nebulous mass before him. It shifts and swirls, huge maws of teeth gaping as they strain from the center. Din fires a shot into the creature, and the bullet goes straight through. Dozens of tiny red eyes blink open all across the mass, narrowing towards Din, who scrambles backwards, sliding on the thin layer of ice. 

The first thing he notices is a solid body that catches him. Then he notices the several shades of green swirling around him and the sudden loss of warmth as Jedi Jupiter leaps atop the nearest building. The Jedi’s black boots glisten as a gust of green-tinted wind hits the monster, emanating from Jupiter’s outstretched palm. Jedi Mercury leaps into action below, followed by Jedi Mars. Din watches in awe as the three of them fight like a well-oiled machine, flipping and kicking in dizzying patterns. For its part, the beast phases in and out of tangibility as its teeth snap terrifyingly close to Mars’ legs, then turn smoky again as Mercury slashes forwards. A beam of green light erupts from between Jupiter’s hands, like a sword made out of light, and Jupiter catches the monster in the chest. 

Barely waiting to watch the creature dissolve, Mercury and Mars leap atop the nearest building with ethereal grace. Jupiter turns back, brow furrowed in concern. These are definitely the same Jedi that Din has seen on TV, but older. Jupiter himself is no longer a slim teen, filling out his mossy green ensemble, though he’s retained the movie-star grin. He’s lost the teenage chub, gaining instead an angular jaw and broad shoulders. In short, _this_ Jedi Jupiter looks like an action figure.

“Are you alright?” he asks as his blade retracts. 

“Fine,” Din croaks out. Jupiter’s mouth quirks upwards. 

“Jupiter!” Mars calls. “Let’s go!”

“Duty calls,” Jupiter says ruefully with one more glance at Din. “Take care of yourself.” Jupiter winks knowingly before jumping away to follow his team. 

Din almost forgets to get applesauce.   
  


The first thing he does when he gets home is call Luke, but there’s no answer. It’s only logical, he tells himself, that Luke’s phone is turned off at 2am. He knocks on the door, and assumes that Luke is sleeping. Good. He needs it. Still, it doesn’t keep him from pacing a hole into the living room carpet as Grogu slurps thoughtfully at his applesauce. 

Turning on the news, he’s inundated with reports of the Jedi being seen all over the city, as the creatures from a decade ago have suddenly resurfaced with no warning. 

_“... Out of the blue, like nothing the city has ever seen before. I’m here with Glup Shitto, who is the most recent victim of these attacks. Mr. Shitto, can you explain what happened?”_

_“It was the Jedi! Three of them, all different colors… came out of nowhere, attacking this giant fart cloud!”_

_“Uhm… yes, that’s what the reports say. Can you confirm if these are the Jedi who saved our city ten years ago?”_

_“Oh, for sure! Looked exactly like they used to… the blue one, the green one, and the red one.”_

_The reporter nods and turns back to the camera. “Like Mr. Shitto’s experience, many residents are reporting that three Jedi saved them: Jedi Mars, Jedi Mercury, and Jedi Jupiter. Though it wasn’t uncommon for the Jedi to fight alone, the absence of the Rogues is concerning. The bigger question, though, is the question of Jedi Venus. What happened to the orange Jedi?”_

Din pulls Grogu into his lap and rests his chin on his head, holding him tightly. Luke still doesn’t pick up, although he does get a text from Peli to the work group chat that reads only, _Don’t go out -- Jedi are back?_

Din watches the sun rise through the gaps in the curtains and calls Luke again. 

“Ba,” Grogu whines. Din looks down to see a white crescent moon glowing on his son’s forehead. 

“No,” he mumbles. “No, no, no…” 

~~

The windows to Senator Leia Organa’s penthouse shudder as Jedi Mars stumbles down onto the balcony, fumbling with the key. 

“Shit!” she hisses as it slips from between her bloody fingers. 

“Any day now,” Mercury complains as she leans on Jupiter’s shoulder. 

“Yeah, yeah, gimme a min,” Mars replies, crowing in victory as the glass doors click open. The three Jedi crowd through the door all at once. 

“I’ll get the kit,” Leia Organa announces as the transformation drops from her weary shoulders. “Don’t forget the plastic-- I’m tired of bloodstained couches!” 

Ahsoka Tano braces herself against the wall as Luke Skywalker hurriedly drapes the plastic cover over the central couch. She collapses gratefully as soon as he steps back.

“Oh couch, I’ve missed you,” she slurs. 

“Soka, you’ve got to stay conscious,” Luke warns, pulling up her shirt to expose the gash on her midriff. 

“No, that’s for concussions,” Ahsoka corrects, “I can pass out whenever I want otherwise.”

“Stay awake,” Leia reprimands as she carries the first aid kit out of the bathroom, “Because we have a _lot_ to discuss.”

Luke’s phone chimes, and he turns the ringer off as he gets to work bandaging Ahsoka’s wound. 

“Have you heard from Han and Lando yet?” he asks. 

Leia shakes her head grimly. “No, and both of their cars have been in the same spot all night. They’ve probably been out, just like us.” Luke’s phone buzzes again. “You should get that,” Leia advises, “It might be them, or…” she trails off. “It might be them.”

“Go ahead; I’m busy,” Luke says, gesturing towards Ahsoka.

Leia picks up the phone, eyeing it distastefully. “You have thirty missed calls from “Din Djarin.”” she reads, “And you put heart emojis next to his name? Why hasn’t he come to dinner yet?”

“Because you and Han would scare him off,” Luke replies, “And he’s just… a friend. His son’s in my class. He’s my neighbor.”

“I love gossiping about Luke’s love life, but can we do this later?” Ahsoka interjects. 

“Wow,” Leia remarks, scrolling through Luke’s messages, “Changed my mind -- Luke’s bagged himself a dilf!”

“Oh my god,” Luke moans. “Soka, you’re done, by the way.” Ahsoka sits up with a wince, scooting over on the couch.

There’s a thump from the balcony, and Leia parrots Luke in a way that only twins can. “Oh my god,” she moans, “Han! Plastic couch ONLY!”

“Surprise,” Han exclaims weakly as he and Lando stumble inside, leaning heavily on each other. Their red and blue suit and cape ensembles seem to blend into one another, both spotted with dark blue. 

Leia rolls her eyes. “With all the dying we’ve done in here, it’s a wonder it doesn’t look like a tie-dye shop,” she complains, but helps Han and Lando onto the couch nonetheless. 

Luke works silently alongside Leia’s heaps of admonishments as the twins patch up their allies, wiping away the blueish-silver blood. Despite not being from Earth, Han and Lando are as devoted to its safety as the Jedi Order. After their ship crashed near Coruscant, they were rescued by Chewie, and eventually joined the Jedi in their fight against the Emperor. 

Chewie leaps atop the arm of the couch and Lando pets him absentmindedly. For all intents and purposes, Chewie is a mildly oversized brown cat, with a spot in the shape of a moon on his head. 

“If you guys suck this bad, we really ARE doomed,” Chewie remarks.

“Oh, get a load of this guy,” Han snipes, “They were _worse_ than before, okay? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Wait,” Lando says, looking around, “Where’s Kenobi?”

Leia’s face goes pinched. “Who can say?” she says tightly. “Not like he ever contacted us since he dropped off the face of the planet.”

“Did you two find anything that might tell us _why_ these things are back?” Ahsoka addresses the Rogues. 

“Yeah, but you’re not gonna like it,” Lando reports while Han pulls a face. “We’d heard rumors about Palpatine’s old gang starting up again, so we went to check it out. Turns out, they’re in Coruscant tracking some baby, for whatever reason. We didn’t get anything out of them, and they turned out to be shadow monsters anyways. We tried to come straight back here, but got a little… sidetracked.”

“Sounds like an all-nighter,” Ahsoka sighs, commandeering Leia’s laptop.   
  
“Sounds like Anakin did a piss-poor job of killing the Emperor,” Leia mutters. 

Luke’s head snaps up. “He _died_ for us!” he defends.

“Yeah, because he betrayed us in the first place,” Leia fires back. 

“Can you guys shut up!” Ahsoka yells, “We’re not teenagers anymore!” Huffing irritatedly, she types away at the keyboard. “I’m trying to find the first attack -- whoever’s got enough Force juice to whip these up will be near there. We can’t let this get out of… ” she trails off.

“Do you feel that?” Luke asks, though Leia and Ahsoka are already standing up. 

“More Force shit?” Han ventures. In reply, three beams of light envelop the Jedi, signalling the start of their transformations. “Oh, goody.”

~~

Din can only watch in horror as Grogu’s eyes slide closed and the moon burns like a brand across his forehead.

“Grogu? Grogu! Wake up! Wake _up_!” he pleads, shaking him gently. Grogu moans slightly, but does not wake. The moon continues to burn as Grogu’s face scrunches in concentration.

Din hugs his son to his chest and ignores his pounding heart. “It’s gonna be okay, buddy,” he promises him.

Then, the knock comes. _Luke_ , Din thinks, setting Grogu on the couch and getting the door.

The man at the door is decidedly _not_ Luke. He somehow looks like a classy combination of secret agent and royalty while simultaneously wearing the rattiest orange t-shirt Din has ever seen. 

“Hello there,” the man says with a winning smile, tossing his coiffed blond hair and moving to enter the apartment.

Din stops him with a warning hand to the shoulder. “Who the hell are you?”

The man looks down at Din’s hand in barely contained frustration. “Apologies,” he says smoothly, stepping back, “I wasn’t aware we had so much time for pleasantries.” He extends a hand to Din. “Obi-Wan Kenobi. And you…” He squints. “Hm. Could be worse. You must be the new Moon.”

Obi-Wan takes advantage of Din’s shock to brush past him into the apartment, surveying his surroundings critically. “The Force is strong here. You must’ve manifested quite recently.”

_Grogu._ Din scoops Grogu up from the couch, holding him protectively. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but Grogu isn’t going to be part of any of this-- this Jedi bullshit.”

Obi-Wan drops the magazine he’d been idly flipping through. “The child?” he asks, turning his scrutinizing gaze on Grogu, whose head continues to glow. 

“How’d you find us?” Din asks. If Kenobi could find them, then maybe those monsters could too. The thought is a chilling one, and it causes Din to hold onto Grogu even more tightly. 

“I have some… light clairvoyant powers,” Obi-Wan admits, waving his hand. “Very vague, rarely helpful. I mostly use common sense and reasoning, which is why I know that we should head over to Luke Skywalker’s apartment.”

“Luke? What does any of this have to do with Luke?” Din asks. 

“Well, for one, you don’t have enough space here to fit the whole Jedi Order.” Obi-Wan explains. “Come on now, get your coat.”

Din does as he says, mostly because Obi-Wan seems to know what’s going on, grabbing Grogu’s applesauce and favorite toy as well. The pieces are all falling into place, but Din is still processing what they add up to. The tidal wave of protectiveness rises up in him, drowning him in fear that something has happened to Grogu, something he was unable to prevent. 

“They’ll have gone to Leia’s place,” Obi-Wan continues, “But the security on that place is a real headache, and they’re probably after you already. So, it’s either Luke or Ahsoka, and Luke’s place is both closer and slightly bigger.”

Obi-Wan clasps his hands together. “So. Shall we?” 

“Wait…” Din pauses, “Are you a Jedi?”

Obi-Wan rolls his eyes. “Astute observation.”

“Then… all those people you named. Leia, Ahsoka, _Luke_ … They’re Jedi too? Which ones are which?”

Obi-Wan seems genuinely confused. “Did we stop color-coding ourselves?” he asks.

~~

Obi-Wan picks the flimsy lock with more alacrity than Din thinks strictly necessary, striding into Luke’s apartment like he owns the place. He leaves the lights off and kicks his shoes off at the door.

“Oh, he’s moved everything,” Obi-Wan complains, meandering into the kitchen to dig through Luke’s pantry. Din moves slowly, taking in the carefully stacked books on the coffee table and the several bookshelves, fingers ghosting over the dust-laden picture frames. For all Luke’s friendliness and proximity, Din has never been to his apartment. Din feels a sense of wrongness dip in his gut at intruding when his friend is absent. Looking around, the apartment has the feel of a mausoleum, not a home. Sparse minimalist decorations put Din off, until he catches sight of children’s drawings on the fridge.

He turns his attention back to the photos, showing Luke over the various years. Luke and Leia in one, then a group photo of what must be all the Jedi -- Din recognizes Luke, Leia, Ahsoka, and now Obi-Wan, alongside three other boys and a girl. Din reaches to the top shelf to examine the last photo: an older couple with three children.

“I’d leave that one face-down if I were you,” Obi-Wan comments from behind him, causing Din to startle. “I’d hate to have come all this way just for the Skytwins to get into a screaming match again.”

“Do they do that often?” Din asks, carefully setting the frame back as he’d found it. 

“I wouldn’t know,” Obi-Wan answers, “I haven’t seen them in, oh, about a decade.” He perks up, as if listening to some unseen noise. “And there they are now. Oh, lovely, they’ve brought the cat.”

The aforementioned cat pads into the room, brr-ing at Din inquisitively. The light flicks on.

The first thing he notices about the Jedi is that they somehow seem too tall to be indoors. Their heads are nowhere near the ceiling, but the threatening energy they have is stifling when packed into one room. Jupiter is at the forefront, and now that Din knows his secret, he can’t believe he never noticed it before; Jupiter is a natural extension of everything that Luke is, like the photograph restored in breathtaking sharpness. He’s flanked by Mars and Mercury, along with two other men Din doesn’t recognize. Leia's and Ahsoka's faces slide into focus and he can't believe he never recognized them before.

The question builds in Din’s throat, filling his mouth like cotton. He can’t bring himself to ask it yet. Jupiter is looking at him in horror, hands balled into fists at his sides. 

Leia steps forwards. “Is that him?” she asks, nodding towards Grogu, who is still sleeping in Din’s arms. Din loosens his hold slightly, supporting Grogu’s head as it rolls back and exposing the moon insignia. Luke gasps.

“He’s so… young,” Ahsoka murmurs. 

“Wait, _that’s_ the new Jedi Moon?” one of the men asks. Leia steps on his foot. 

Din shakes his head vehemently. “I won’t let him,” he vows, “He’s just a kid! You can’t expect him to save the world!”

“We don’t,” Luke says firmly. There’s a bright flash from behind Din.

“We don’t really have a choice,” Jedi Venus says with faux nonchalance. “I’ve seen the attacks on TV. We’re going to need a Moon to fix this.”

“He’s a _child_ ,” Din replies, voice cracking. “He’s not going to fight your battles for you.” He backs away from Obi-Wan.

Luke steps between Din and Obi-Wan protectively. “He’s right,” Luke asserts, “We can find a way to fix this without a Moon.”

Obi-Wan laughs hollowly. “Like we did last time?”

“We’re better this time,” Ahsoka insists, “If we can just end this _now_ , then there won’t ever have to be a new Moon.”

“I’ve foreseen it,” Obi-Wan says, his voice cracking. “We… we’re going to die. We have to train the new Moon to take our place.”

“Bullshit,” Din interjects, “You’re really going to trust some--”

“Obi-Wan hasn’t been wrong before,” Ahsoka says nervously. “Last time… ”

“Last time, I said An-- Anakin was going to betray us, and none of us believed it, and _look where we are now!”_ Obi-Wan says, voice rising. His casual veneer has easily dropped, and the cold fire in his eyes chills Din to the bone. 

“Obi-Wan,” Leia says, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, “What exactly have you seen?”

Obi-Wan exhales sharply. “We go to Starlight Tower. I don’t know when, but we do. Someone is there, someone who knows us, someone who kills us; I assume that’s Palpatine. The new Moon will survive -- I don’t know what happens after that.”

“So, just don’t go to Starlight Tower,” Han suggests.

“Palpatine is just going to keep attacking people,” Leia refutes, shaking her head. “The sooner we go, the sooner this will all be over.”

“But who’s going to train the new Moon?” Lando asks.

“I can implant my memories into the mind of his guardian,” Obi-Wan says, nodding towards Din. “Mr. Djarin will have everything he needs to advise his son in the fight against the darkness.”

“Wait… It was supposed to be me,” Luke breathes in sudden realization. “I was supposed to train Grogu. Obi-Wan, have you seen it? He’s in my class, we’re neighbors, we kept meeting by chance… he was supposed to end up here all along.”

Obi-Wan closes his eyes and extends a hand to touch Luke’s forehead lightly, concentrating intently. “Yes… it was supposed to be you.”

“What about Din?” Luke presses.

Obi-Wan shakes his head. “I see nothing of him.” He opens his eyes and leans back. “That’s not unusual, though; I can typically only sense the future relating to Jedi business.”

“So I have no part in this at all?” Din asks, “He’s my  _ son _ . I’m not going to leave him.”

“No one is asking you to,” Luke assures him. “We’re just trying to figure out what to do.”

“He’ll have to fight, then. After we’re gone,” Ahsoka reminds them softly. 

“No,” Luke says firmly, “Today. We finish it _today._ That era is over, and no one else will fight our battles. We’re done. I don’t _care_ what Obi-Wan said, we’re going to finish this, without Grogu.”

Din surveys the room, the titans packed like sardines into a one-bedroom apartment. Each of them tired but determined to restrain their struggles to their generation. Sharper-edged than their action figure equivalents with broken noses rehealed stronger than before and paper-white scars across knuckles, the soldiers nod in assent. 

Luke’s gaze sweeps over the room, finally stopping on Din. “We deserve to rest.” He swallows hard. “To finally have our happy ending.” The moment hangs in the air, filling Din’s lungs so he can barely breathe.

“Then it’s decided,” Leia proclaims, “We’ll handle this, and we’ll handle it _today_ . If we’re supposed to die at Starlight Tower, then we’ll just draw him away from there. Chewie, can you mute the awakening?”   
  


The cat paws at Din’s leg. Luke nods at Din, who bends down to let the cat extend a paw to his son. _This is the most insane fucking day_ , Din thinks as Grogu’s forehead finally stops glowing. 

“Blue, Mercury, and Venus, you’re best with this techno stuff. Work on finding the hiding place of whatever new evil this is, while Red and I go on the hunt for residual monsters. Jupiter, you’re on babysitting duty,” Leia commands.

“Aren’t I supposed to be the leader?” Obi-Wan wonders aloud.

Leia shrugs. “You were, and then you disappeared for ten years, so forgive me for taking over.”

“Apology accepted,” Obi-Wan replies primly.

“Wait, where are they going?” Din asks quietly as his friends in the ensembles of Mercury, Venus, and the Blue Rogue follow Mars and the Red Rogue out the door.

“Chewie has a secret base made out of all the tech that survived the Rogues’ crash,” Luke explains. “Oh wait, I forgot you didn’t know; the Rogues are aliens. No relation to the Jedi except that Han and Leia are married, but that’s common knowledge.”

“Right,” Din says slowly. He holds Grogu tight and summons up the courage to ask what he’s been waiting for. “Luke?”

At the sound of Din’s voice, Jupiter’s transformation falls, leaving only a Luke that can’t meet his eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Din,” Luke says quietly, “I never… I _never_ wanted Grogu to get involved with any of this.”

“Did you know?” Din asks. “Did you know he was… a Jedi?” 

“No, never!” Luke exclaims, pained. “I swear, I had nothing to do with his awakening -- I would never wish that on anyone.”

Din exhales. “I know.”

“I don’t want you to worry,” Luke continues, looking up at Din with earnest blue eyes, “We’re going to fix this, and Grogu can live a normal life, and you’ll never have to see any of us again.”

Din sighs heavily and takes a seat on Luke’s couch, gesturing for Luke to sit beside him. After a moment, Luke sits down. Din brushes a strand of Grogu’s hair out of his face, cradling his son in his arms. Now that Chewie has quieted whatever strange magic had shone out of him, Grogu looks peaceful and calm. 

“I… didn’t used to be a mechanic.” Din starts, haltingly.

“Right, you went to college for sociology,” Luke says.

“Well, yes. It cost a lot of money.” Din looks away, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “I took some odd jobs. Turned out to be good at it.”  
  


“It?” Luke’s question is gentle.

“Bounty hunting,” Din explains. “I just wanted the money to pay off my loans, then I found… him.” His gaze returns to his sleeping son. “I found Grogu when I stole him from another bounty hunter. I don’t know where they got him from; all I ever got was a name, one that didn’t exist. I just… I just know that when I saw him… I couldn’t. It took everything I had, but I managed to get out of there, to start over here in Coruscant where no one knew us. And then…”

“And then,” Luke agrees. 

“I can’t lose him,” Din admits. 

“You won’t,” Luke promises with a surprising vehemence. “We’re going to end this, no matter what Obi-Wan says.” He pauses. “Wait, a name that didn’t exist? Din, who was after Grogu?”

“He said his name was… Amidala. Ani Amidala.” Din replies, “But the Amidalas were a family of politicians from Naboo, and none of them are named Ani. So I--”

“You… kept Grogu away from him?” Luke asks in a small voice.

“Do you know him?” Din asks.

“Amidala… that was his wife’s name,” Luke answers in a far-off voice. “Ani is a nickname for Anakin.”

“Anakin Skywalker,” Din realizes. 

“Before he died, Ani, he… he worked for the Emperor. It’s really complicated, and I promise I’ll tell you the whole story one day. Well, if I… y’know. I guess that’s who we have to kill, then. I don’t know how he survived, but he won’t this time. But why... ? You said he was after Grogu?”

Din nods. Luke’s brow furrows. “He… ”

Luke buries his face in Din’s shoulder, shaking slightly. “Oh my god,” he says, voice muffled, “I can’t believe you.” 

Din freezes. 

Luke draws back, wiping tears from bright shining eyes, smiling despite it all. “Do you realize what you did? He was probably going to kill Grogu, or turn him to the dark side. I think you prevented that, somehow. You saw him, and single-handedly threw fate off course, and then you took him in. I’m not going to take him from you,” Luke reiterates adamantly, “I won’t let the others, either. He’s your family.”

“Yes,” Din agrees. “Will you tell me of yours?” 

And Luke does. While Din strokes Grogu’s head, Luke tells him about the first time he transformed, meeting the others, and the first monster he battled. He tells him about Anakin, his older brother, and Padme, the girl he’d loved. About finding out that he was twins with Leia, and about Padme’s death, and about Darth Vader, the worst enemy he’d ever had to face. About the final battle, where Anakin had at last seen the light and sacrificed himself to kill the Emperor, and the subsequent fallout of the Jedi -- Obi-Wan vanished without a trace, leaving no clues as to the location of the young clairvoyant, the rest of them growing apart over time. Luke tells him about how all of them had thought it was over, how they had begun new lives, and how they all wanted so badly to be normal.

“Just… to be able to live life without sneaking out at night to fight monsters in an alleyway, to have the most pressing worry be about how to pay rent instead of saving the entire city, to meet someone and not wonder if it was one of the Emperor’s spies in disguise,” Luke says. “And we did, for a while.” He pauses. “I didn’t think that about you, by the way. I always trusted you, for some reason.”

Din shifts Grogu to one arm, laying his other hand over Luke’s gingerly. Luke meets his gaze, a hesitant smile creeping onto his face as his hand curls around Din’s. 

“This is probably the worst timing ever,” Luke warns, “But if I’m going to… if I’m going to fight the darkness today, I should probably let you know--” 

Din leans forward to kiss him, a gentle press of the lips. Luke’s lips are warm and soft, and taste faintly of mint. 

“Tell me when you get back,” Din says. Luke’s eyes are blown wide in surprise, but a soft smile spreads across his face. 

“I--” he starts, but is interrupted by an insistent beeping from his pocket.

“Is that some sort of pager?” Din asks.

Luke grins ruefully. “Not really,” he answers. “It means… it means I have to go.”  
  


“I’ll go with you,” Din says immediately.

“I’m honored that you would do so,” Luke murmurs, shoulders sagging as if under the weight of the world. “But I can’t let you do that.”

He leans forward, and the last thing that Din registers before he loses consciousness is the brief taste of mint.

~~

_He’s standing in a meadow, surrounded by white and yellow flowers, hazy and blurred in the midday sun. The meadow stretches on in every direction, the same everywhere he looks. The warm breeze runs along his shoulders, and the sun descends gently, just the right temperature for a day out._

_None of this shakes the feeling that there’s something wrong. Din picks a direction at random and trods along, picking his way through the knee-length grass and the daisies. The scene doesn’t change, no matter how long he walks, and the feeling persists, and the sun begins to feel uncomfortable._

_“Hello, Din.” someone says, a man with dark hair falling across his face and blue eyes bright like the sky._

_“Anakin,” Din realizes, stepping back._

_“I’m not here to hurt you,” Anakin promises. “I came to warn you. The thing they’re going up against, it’s not me, and it won’t allow them to escape their fate.”_

_“How did you get in my head?” Din asks, still on the defensive._

_“Luke put some of his memories in your head,” Anakin explains, “So you could train Grogu if they didn’t make it back. It’s sort of like… a back-door. If I exist in your head already, I can get in.”_

_“That makes no sense,” Din replies, unimpressed._

_The air shimmers like a mirage, and a woman flickers into existence for a brief moment._

_“--Tower, we’ll--” she commands, a swatch of angry red across the pastel meadow. Din halts in his tracks, blinks._

_“Leia,” Anakin says, pain clear in his voice. “Listen, you have to go, they’re already there, and I can’t do anything.”_

_“How am I supposed to get out?”_

_“Just-- just concentrate! And Din, when you see my family, tell them I’m sorry--”_

_The harder he concentrates, the more the meadow seems to fade away, and he can see things like lampposts and pavement, and then plastic tiles beneath his feet._

_When he looks up, the red woman is reaching towards him. “Luke!” she cries. Something grabs him by the arm, and he’s being pulled away from her and --_

~~

Din wakes up to Grogu’s distressed cries and a sharp tugging at his arm. The last vestiges of the dream slip away, but Din can still remember the fear in Leia’s voice.

“What’s wrong, buddy?” Din asks, blinking sleep out of his eyes. Grogu pulls insistently towards the door, waving his Jedi Jupiter toy frantically. “Luke?” Grogu nods. “Is Luke in trouble?”

Adrenaline shoots through his veins, sleep forgotten. Din scrambles off the couch, nearly braining himself on the coffee table in the process. Grogu whines impatiently at the door as Din stumbles to his feet.

He doesn’t question how Grogu knows where to go, only clasping his hand and following. Grogu leads him down to the street, weaving through the sparse population of street-goers with an uncanny ease. He pushes forward determinedly, and Din struggles to keep up. 

Finally, they reach the base of a looming tower, sparkling with lights, like most other buildings in Coruscant. This one reaches above the rest, sending a feeling of doom through Din’s heart. 

“In there?” he asks, but Grogu is already making a beeline for the doors. It’s locked, unsurprisingly. Din picks the lock with ease.

An overwhelming sense of deja vu hits him as he steps into the lobby and he recognizes the tiles. Luke was here. He scoops Grogu up into his arms and dashes into the elevator, hitting the button for the top floor. Heart pounding, Din loads his gun. 

~~

“I’ve been waiting for you,” the voice croons out of the darkness of the top floor. 

“Cut the crap,” Mars demands. “Who are you, and why are you attacking the city?”

“That seems pretty obvious to me,” Anakin says as the lights flicker on, bathing him in white light, a contrast to his black robes. 

At once, the Jedi move to attack him, but shadowy monsters coalesce and restrain them.

“Anakin!” Venus chokes out, “Don’t do this!”

“Oh, I’m not Anakin,” Anakin says dismissively. “I’m just borrowing his body, since mine was regrettably… destroyed.”

“Emperor Palpatine,” Mercury realizes aloud.

“Very good!” the Emperor crows, grin stretched and unnatural on Anakin’s face. “You always _were_ the smart one.” The smile drops off his face. “Kill them,” he orders, and the shadows attack.

It’s like riding a bike, like slipping into a familiar persona, like brushing your teeth on autopilot. The Jedi attack as a single unit, intuitively synced with each other, a vibrant splash of color across the stark black of the shadow creatures. Behind it all, Palpatine watches in Anakin’s body. When the last of the shadows explodes in a burst of light, he clenches his fist and all of them are hit with vibrant blue lightning. 

“You were never a threat,” he cackles. “But it is certainly satisfying to watch you die!”

_This is it_ , Luke thinks, _we’re going to die and I’ll never see Din again and Han and Leia won’t ever have the baby they’ve been planning for and--_

The elevator dings.

~~

Din looks on in horror as the thing that looks like Anakin electrocutes the Jedi effortlessly. He doesn’t think, just reacts, and he doesn’t realize he’s fired the gun until after the lightning stops. The gun looks unfamiliar in his own hand, in this strange realm of lightning hands and laser swords, but it still works just fine, smoke wafting slightly from the barrel. The Jedi are staring at him, but all he can see is the body of Anakin Skywalker lying on the dirty tile floor.

“Din,” Luke says slowly, “Did you just _shoot_ Emperor Palpatine?”

Din stares at the body. It remains motionless. “I think so?”

“Oh my god,” Luke says, laughing slightly hysterically, “I’m so fucking in love with you.”

“Are you guys serious?” Obi-Wan complains.

“Yeah, get a room,” Leia jeers.

Grogu cheers from Din’s arms as the tension dissolves and the Jedi break down into laughter, bright and carefree with the knowledge that they have all survived. Luke catches his eye, and Din breaks out into a tentative smile as the sun rises over Starlight Tower.

~~

“Wait, so what about the prophecy?” Ahsoka asks when they’re all back in Luke’s living room.

“Obi-Wan just sucks,” Han says without preamble.

“I mean he was right, though,” Luke interjects, “Right up until Din showed up.”

“Luke, I think you’re onto something,” Obi-Wan muses. “I didn’t want to tell you this earlier but… I’d had a vision before, of Grogu following Anakin into the dark, many years ago. I didn’t know who he was then, and I couldn’t find him. It must’ve been Din who found him, kept him away from Palpatine.”

“And it was Din who showed up to save us!” Leia adds.

Din squirms under the gaze of the four Jedi and two Rogues. “I don’t know anything about any prophecies. I’m just some guy.”

He focuses on Luke, and then immediately wishes he hadn’t, because Luke is looking at him with such tenderness and devotion that it makes him want to weep. 

“I know,” Luke says, “And you still managed to completely fuck up Fate itself.”

Someone snorts. “Geez guys, in front of the kid?”

Luke rolls his eyes, and the moment is broken. “Get out of my house, Han Solo.”

“Aw, but Luke, I’m so comfortable here, on your dirty carpet,” Han pleads.

Luke makes a halfhearted attempt to kick Han, but his legs don’t reach from his position on the couch and he gives up. They end up falling asleep there, in various positions around Luke’s apartment and piled up across each other. In the soft light of morning, Din looks around at the relaxed and peaceful faces around the room, and something lifts in his heart. The long martyrdom of the Jedi is over. He used to wonder what happened to them, if they were happy -- now he knows. Din brushes a piece of hair across Luke’s forehead and smiles slightly. He knows for sure. Grogu murmurs from his spot between them on the couch and Din leans down to press a kiss to his brow. 

Finally, in the daylight, they can start anew.

**Author's Note:**

> ok i feel like u guys should know. obiwan left bc he had a vision that if he stayed he would push people away in his grief and decided to just. leave and preempt that. obiwan needs to learn the difference between actual prophetic dreams and anxiety nightmares. yes he was a hermit for 10 years.
> 
> also in the fated timeline grogu was supposed to get together a New jedi gang w the sequels characters (rey as mars, finn as jupiter, poe as venus, rose as mercury). also obi has gotten a prophecy wrong before actually (he predicted han would get with the wrong twin). his powers are completely contingent on his belief in them for jedi reasons. he doesnt have any more visions after this fic. 
> 
> also i would totally make this a more fleshed out au but lets be real i dont have the attention span for that. anyone is welcome to the idea tho


End file.
